Think Fast
by Stannis is the one true king
Summary: Based off of Pagey's April Fool's video describing the synopsis to Flash 4x22... To defeat DeVoe, Barry must explore all the Speed Force has to offer, and must seek advice from those with a connection to it, both good and bad.
1. The Idea

_Thought of this based on Pagey's April Fool's video, describing the plot of Episode 4x22 of The Flash._

"I've got to do this, Joe." Barry told his father in law. "I have to do whatever it takes to stop DeVoe's plan and save the lives of everyone he threatens."

"But Barry, how can you stop this Awakening that DeVoe keeps mentioning if you don't even know how to? I mean, with all of his powers, he can do whatever he wants. You know he let you out of the Speed Force so he could get control over it, and once he has that, he'll use his powers to control the city. How do we stop that when we know he's always been steps ahead of us?"

"We save the speed force from him. By using every trick we possibly can to prevent him."

"I sure hope you know what you're doing Bar." Joe told him.

"So do I, Joe." Barry said, thinking over his new plan. It was risky, the chances of him dying were certainly high, but if he didn't do something to stop DeVoe, whatever DeVoe had planned would be even worse for the world.

Barry knew his plan could go wrong in a million different ways. Time wraiths. The Black Flash if he were still about, let alone the people he was going to travel through time to see, but if he didn't stop DeVoe, then everything would be lost.

/

"Things are proceeding exactly as you planned, husband." Marlize said as she walked in step with DeVoe's new body.

"Not yet, once I have access to the speed force however, I'll be able to fully ascend and ensure my longevity. I will be a God, unlike that pretender Savitar. In fact, once I have the speed force coursing through my veins, and the ability to heal constantly from my degeneration, I think instead of The Thinker, Team Flash can call me…Godspeed." DeVoe allowed himself a small smile.

"Godspeed?" Marlize asked him.

"I will be a God of Speed, faster than any who have come before, even Mr Allen will recognise he cannot hope to stand against me, not once the entire Speed Force is at my command. Then, I will be untouchable, and I will be able to contain all of the powers from these metas, keeping myself powerful and alive for years to come, and with me, you shall also be strong my love." DeVoe told her, inwardly congratulating himself for having kept her spiked with the Weeper's tears. If she were in her right mind now, she'd be horrified that the man she had loved had become so warped, so obsessed with keeping himself alive at the expense of so many others.

/

"Guys, I know a way I can stop DeVoe." Barry told the team as they assembled in the Cortex.

"That's great man, how do we do it?" Cisco asked.

"That's the thing…It won't exactly be easy." Barry admitted as the rest looked in worry at him.

"What is it?" Iris asked, alarmed that Barry seemed hesitant about it.

"I need help, to figure out how to save the speed force, I need to get advice and help from those with a connection to it." Barry told them.

"Like Wally, off with the Legends?" Joe asked.

"Not just Wally, I'll need to speak to Jay, and Jesse…" Barry trailed off.

"I'm sure that won't be an issue though?" Harry asked, sensing more was to come.

"I need everyone…" Barry said, with the rest of the team's eyes widening as they realised what he meant.

"You mean…Thawne?" Caitlin asked, worried.

"Also Zoom…and Savitar." Barry told them.

"But how will you get them to help you? I mean, no offence man, but they'll probably try to kill you." Cisco said.

"I'm a lot faster than they are now, if they try anything, I'll run circles around them before escaping, don't worry guys, we've got this, we need to stop DeVoe and they're my best chance to do so." Barry told them, his voice not betraying the fear he felt at having to risk time travel again to seek help from three of his greatest enemies.

'I just hope I can convince them to help me.' Barry thought to himself as the others discussed ways to make sure they could get Barry through it safely and not risk altering the timelines further by travelling back in time again.

Barry set off later that day by himself, feeling more alone than ever. He'd already travelled to Earth-2 and Earth-3 and Jay and Jesse had told him all they knew about the Speed force and their connection to it, but it was nothing he didn't already know. If he was going to save the Speed Force, he'd need the help of the one who siphoned it from others, the one who ruled it and the one who had studied it more than any other person in history.


	2. Face Your Past

_Barry heading back is set AFTER Flash Back, so Thawne has already met a Barry who came from the future for his help._

Barry ran through the portal as fast as he could and found himself looking at an all too familiar sight. It was his old family home. Looking sadly at it, he walked towards the old home and stopped once he remembered that this building was still deserted, since his mother was killed by Thawne, nobody had lived here. Turning towards STAR Labs, Barry knew he had to head to face Reverse-Flash, and make sure Thawne didn't know he was from the future.

"If Thawne finds out you're from the future, everything could be in jeopardy." Cisco had warned him once he'd explained the plan to Team Flash. "Get there, find out whatever you need to know about the Speed Force and get back, don't give Eobard time to realise where you're from ore he'll kill you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cisco." Barry grumbled as he suited up and sped into the Cortex to come back to early 2015 and confront Thawne once more.

Reaching STAR Labs again, Barry rushed in, remembering that it was a day that he was tied up in CCPD work and didn't come to the Labs, with any luck, Thawne would never know there were two Barry Allen's in this time now.

"Good morning, Mr Allen." Thawne said as Barry entered the Cortex, gliding upto him in his wheelchair. "We weren't expecting you today." Thawne cocked an eyebrow at the younger speedster.

"Sorry, I got off work a lot earlier than I planned, decided to come in and work with you and getting my speed higher." Barry lied. "I can't get my dad out of jail if the Reverse-Flash is always one step ahead of me." Barry said as Thawne's eyes widened slightly.

"No, indeed not. Reverse-Flash? That's an interesting name for him, rather than the Man in Yellow." Thawne smiled at Barry.

"I figured, since I'm good and he's not, and he wears reverse colours to me, he's the Reverse-Flash." Barry said, wary that he had given the game away, but Thawne appeared to be none the wiser.

"Well, it definitely rolls off the tongue better." Thawne chuckled. "I'm afraid Caitlin and Cisco aren't here at the moment, they're running errands around the city for me, so it looks like it's just you and me, Mr Allen. I suggest you run laps around the pipeline, pushing yourself further and further."

"I will do, Dr Wells. I just have to ask, you know about the idea of the speed force, don't you?"

"I can theorise on it, certainly, What do you want to know about it?" Thawne asked.

"Is there any way, hypothetically, that I could harness it and bend it to my will?" Barry asked, wondering if Thawne could give him what he needed to stop DeVoe himself.

"Theoretically it could be possible, but you'd need to crack the equation, as it were. All forces have an equation, a mathematic solution that can unlock their potential. You'd need to be able to manipulate the speed force to such an extent that the limits of reality are your own. That time, speed and space all bend to you. To put it simply, if you could manipulate the speed force through using the equation, faster than light speed could be possible." Thawne said with a look of hunger in his eyes, a look Barry didn't miss.

"Faster than light speed? That's impossible, isn't it?" Barry asked.

"So is a man who could run a mile in under a second." Thawne smirked. "With the Speed Force, I'm sure anything is possible. I'll certainly do my best to help you crack the equation, Barry, to give you unlimited speed, that'd help you to save so many people, to stop the Reverse-Flash and free your father. I'll do my best to make it happen." Thawne promised him with a look of sympathy on his face.

"I mean, this is all hypothetical, isn't it?" Barry asked nervously, turning to the Cortex computer and starting to crunch some numbers. Thawne had given him an equation the last time he was here and it had allowed him to get fast enough to stand upto Zoom, but this time, he'd need to get a lot, lot faster than he did the last time he had Thawne's help.

"Yes, it sure is." Thawne said, with a smirk on his face as Barry continued to work on the computer, unknowing that behind him, Thawne was rising out of the wheelchair, his hand vibrating.


End file.
